Elbow strikes expose gaps that long-range kicking arts can hide. Once the range collapses, footwork, posture, hand position, and balance get tested fast. The theme came from recent work with Cotswold Karate School. We took elbow strikes from Muay Thai, placed them in a Taekwondo training context, and tested them through specific sparring rounds. The aim was not to turn Taekwondo into Thai boxing. It was to study a proven striking tool and see how it behaves under pressure.

Man with wrapped hands in purple background, "Latest Blog" text. Inset of three smiling people with text: "Integrating Elbow Strikes."

Teaching martial arts requires constant adaptation and learning. Recently, I had the opportunity to provide a martial arts teacher training private lesson to a long-time client from the Cotswold School of Karate. After completing a course focused on knee strikes, we shifted our attention to elbow strikes, using an exclusively Muay Thai approach. This post shares insights from that session, highlighting how karate instructors can integrate Muay Thai clinching and elbow techniq

Hour four of my client’s Muay Thai course marked a significant milestone as we delved into the intricacies of elbow strikes specifically within the context of the clinch. The clinch, a fundamental aspect of Muay Thai, allows for close-range combat where fighters can utilise various techniques to gain an upper hand. In this session, I opted to dedicate the initial series of rounds to focusing on individual elbow strikes, allowing my client to practice landing these powerful st